Dr. Dre Is Donating $10 Million For A Performing Arts Center At Compton High School

While promoting the release of 2015 LP Compton, Dr. Dre announced plans to donate its royalties to the construction of a performing arts center in the neighborhood he helped put on Rap’s map. At the time, the mogul said “I’ve been really trying to do something special for Compton and just couldn’t quite figure out what it was,” though he did confirm he was working alongside Mayor Aja Brown. Newly unveiled plans today (June 15) prove the legendary producer is putting his money where his mouth is, with $10 million of his earnings going to Compton High School’s state-of-the-art complex.

According to a statement made to the Los Angeles Times, Dre said his goal is “to provide kids with the kind of tools and learning they deserve,” adding that the as-yet-unnamed center “will be a place for young people to be creative in a way that will help further their education and positively define their future.” Featuring cutting edge technology and equipment, the complex will give students and the Compton community-at-large access to digital-media production facilities and a 1,200-seat theater, per the Timesreport. Dre’s $10 million donation is only the beginning; he also “will be directly involved in raising the remaining funds needed to complete the center, which is expected to break ground by 2020.”

President of Compton Unified School District’s governing board of trustees Satra Zurita called the forthcoming complex “one of the greatest performing arts centers in the country” and thanked Dre for his “unwavering” support of the community. “Micah Ali, vice chairman of the district’s board of education, said the new high school will be the most modern public school complex ever built,” writes the Times. Eazy-E and The Game both attended Compton High.